The meeting will convene students and early career researchers from around the world and serve as a powerful catalyst for projects led by the next generation of scholars and researchers to advance OpenCon's three focus areas—Open Access, Open Education, and Open Data.

On October 20th, 2014, the World Bank and SPARC (The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) invited an expert panel representing research funders, university administrators, and scholarly societies, to explore how the transition to Open Access affects scholars and researchers at different stages of their careers. The panel discussed the role that institutions central to a career in research can play in supporting—and rewarding—early career researchers in making their articles and underlying data openly accessible.

Why Open Access?

Open access allows anyone to read peer-reviewed research articles without charge, thereby facilitating:

Accelerated discovery. With open access, researchers can read and build on the findings of others without restriction.

Public enrichment. Much scientific and medical research is paid for with public funds. Open Access allows taxpayers to see the results of their investment.

Improved education. Open Access means that teachers and their students have access to the latest research findings throughout the world.